Twiggy
was the world's first supermodel: a skinny kid with the
face of an angel who became an icon. 'She'll last a
couple of weeks', a bystander quipped in 1967 when she
took New York by storm. Thirty five years on and Twiggy
is still a force to be reckoned with in the fashion
world.

In early
1966, Lesley Hornby found herself propelled to the heights
of international fame as the world's first supermodel -
Twiggy.

With her
waif like figure, boyish hair cut and striking eye lashes
she created an image that would epitomise an era. Twiggy
became the idol for millions of teenage girls of the
sixties revolution

By the age
of 17, Twiggy was one of the most famous faces on the
planet: her photograph was even encased in a time capsule
and sent into space. By this time in the sixties, Twiggy
had already become a household name across the globe, an
icon whose image graced the covers of Vogue, Tatler and
even her own American publication Her Mod, Mod Teen
World.

During her
years as a model, Twiggy posed for some of the top
photographers, including Barry Lategan, Melvin Sokolsky,
Richard Avedon and Bert Stern who would make three films about her
extraordinary trip to the United States in 1967.

Although
Twiggy officially retired from modelling in 1970 when she was
cast in 'The Boy Friend' she has been involved in various
modelling assignments, highlights include posing with David
Bowie to create the classic shot that became the cover
of his Pin Ups album.
Since 2005, Twiggy has acted as the face of Marks And Spencer in
their successful advertising campaigns.

"I was in
the salon for about seven hours and they were cutting and colouring it, it
was all extremely exciting for me. He was brilliant, I went from this
mouse like brown to the colour which I have kept now."

Following the
hair cut, Twiggy tells of the photo shoot that was to follow.

"Well
after the hair cut I got on the bus to Barry's (Lategan) and met this
really sweet lovely man who was to take my photos, I mean I'd never been
in front of a camera before!"

Barry
Lategan, describes the first photo shoot which were to produce the shots
for the Face Of '66

"She
appeared with this short hair cut which was an extraordinary
transformation in her because her face came out more prominently and she's
got a beautifully modelled face, totally well proportioned and there was
something very new to me because she had painted her own eyelashes below
her eyes and this was something no one had been doing or had done, she sat
in front of the camera and it was dazzling..."

Barry
Lategan, talks of the photos taken at the session

"There
are so many adjectives to describe what 'photogenic'
actually is, but my photos of Twiggy show the result of that."

"I spent
the afternoon photographing her, we photographed her side on, Leonard
changed her hair into a curl, he put a plait down the side of her, we
smoothed her hair away we just tried different ways to show this hair cut.
A few days later I made prints and as usual Leonard displayed them in his
salon."

Twiggy
speaks about what happened after her photos were displayed in Leonard's
salon...

"Leonard
hung them up in his salon and Deidre McSharry of the Daily Express saw
them and said "Who is this girl?" Anyway she phoned us up and we
went along to her office and she wrote this big article on me which
appeared in the Daily Express declaring me the new 'Face Of '66' and it
all happened from there really!"

Twiggy
records her first single 'Beautiful Dreams' for Ember records,
released in the UK and then distributed throughout the world.

Twiggy
releases her first line of clothing called Twiggy Dresses. The range
was aimed at the teenage market.

1967

Twiggy
makes the promotional trip to New York. Whilst in the US, Bert Stern
makes three documentaries about her visit 'Twiggy In New York',
'Twiggy In Hollywood' and 'Twiggy, Why?' for the ABC network.
Legendary songwriters Leiber & Stoller even penned the theme song
for the documentaries 'I'll Remember You - Twiggy'.

Twiggy
graces the covers of various American magazines, Vogue, Newsweek,
Harpers Bazaar etc.

Twiggy's
own magazine is published in the US under the title Twiggy: Her Mod
Mod Teen World.

Mattel
release the original Twiggy Barbie doll

In the UK,
the Independent television network Granada, film their own
documentary, titled 'Twiggy'. The documentary showed Twiggy at home
with her family and modelling for Vogue.

1968

Twiggy
makes a promotional visit to Japan where her single Beautiful Dreams
reaches the top spot. She is featured in a fashion show at the
Budokwai Stadium and films commercials for Toyota cars and Choco
Flakes.

Below is a
comprehensive list of the Twiggy merchandise produced throughout the
sixties. As a result of Twiggy's promotional tour of the US in 1967,
several companies marketed their products using Twiggy's endorsement. This
resulted in the production of Twiggy lunch boxes, dolls, tote bags, board
games, tights etc.